It was a mother’s nightmare and a kid’s fantasy come true. Hundreds of children on Tuesday jumped into a 75-by-150-foot mud pit as part of the 26th annual Mud Day at a park in the Detroit suburb of Westland.

Events included wheelbarrow races and a game of limbo.

A panel of judges selected a king and queen, based on their creative uses of mud.

Emily Cunningham of Riverview was chosen Queen of Mud.

A crown was placed atop the 8-year-old’s head, which was caked in mud and adorned with leaves and a stick. She says, “It’s fun getting mud all over you.”

And after it was over, the Western Wayne Hazmat team was there to hose off the kids.